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Related Concept Videos

Hydrolysis01:15

Hydrolysis

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Overview
Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction in which the addition of water breaks down a polymer into its simpler monomer units. For example, peptides break into amino acids, carbohydrates into simple sugars, and DNA into nucleotides. Enzymes often facilitate these processes.
Hydrolysis Reverses Dehydration Synthesis
Complex carbohydrates can be broken down by breaking the bonds between individual sugar units. The reaction breaks a glycosidic bond as water is added to the compound. The...
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Acid Halides to Carboxylic Acids: Hydrolysis01:01

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Hydrolysis of acid halides is a nucleophilic acyl substitution reaction in which acid halides react with water to give carboxylic acids. The reaction occurs readily and does not require acid or a base catalyst.
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Hydrolysis of ATP01:08

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The bonds of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) can be broken through the addition of water, releasing one or two phosphate groups in an exergonic process called hydrolysis. This reaction liberates the energy in the bonds for use in the cell—for instance, to synthesize proteins from amino acids.
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Water: A Bronsted-Lowry Acid and Base02:30

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The reaction between a Brønsted-Lowry acid and water is called acid ionization. For example, when hydrogen fluoride dissolves in water and ionizes, protons are transferred from hydrogen fluoride molecules to water molecules, yielding hydronium ions and fluoride ions:
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Nitriles to Carboxylic Acids: Hydrolysis01:08

Nitriles to Carboxylic Acids: Hydrolysis

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Nitriles undergo acid-catalyzed hydrolysis or base-catalyzed hydrolysis to form a carboxylic acid. These reactions proceed via an amide intermediate.
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Aqueous Solutions and Heats of Hydration02:42

Aqueous Solutions and Heats of Hydration

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Water and other polar molecules are attracted to ions. The electrostatic attraction between an ion and a molecule with a dipole is called an ion-dipole attraction. These attractions play an important role in the dissolution of ionic compounds in water.
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Updated: Jul 29, 2025

High-Resolution Neutron Spectroscopy to Study Picosecond-Nanosecond Dynamics of Proteins and Hydration Water
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RNA Hydrolysis at Mineral-Water Interfaces.

Ke Zhang1, Kun-Pu Ho1, Anamika Chatterjee1

  • 1Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States.

Environmental Science & Technology
|May 22, 2023
PubMed
Summary

A new abiotic pathway shows RNA rapidly degrades within hours when adsorbed to iron minerals like goethite. This mineral-catalyzed hydrolysis, unlike enzymatic breakdown, occurs at neutral pH and impacts environmental RNA persistence.

Keywords:
Lewis acid catalysisabiotic RNA hydrolysismineral-catalyzed hydrolysisphosphodiester bond cleavagesurface-catalyzed hydrolysis

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Area of Science:

  • Environmental chemistry
  • Biogeochemistry
  • Mineralogy

Background:

  • Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a vital biomolecule in environmental systems, crucial for biogeochemical cycles and technology.
  • RNA persistence is typically limited by rapid enzymatic or microbial degradation, faster than known abiotic processes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To uncover and characterize a novel abiotic hydrolysis pathway for RNA.
  • To investigate the role of mineral adsorption in RNA degradation.

Main Methods:

  • Adsorption of RNA to iron (oxyhydr)oxide minerals (goethite, hematite) and aluminum minerals (montmorillonite).
  • Analysis of RNA hydrolysis products and kinetics at varying pH.
  • Comparison with acid- and base-catalyzed hydrolysis in solution.

Main Results:

  • RNA rapidly hydrolyzes within hours upon adsorption to goethite (α-FeOOH) and hematite (α-Fe2O3).
  • Iron in the minerals acts as a Lewis acid, catalyzing sequence-independent phosphodiester bond hydrolysis.
  • Optimal hydrolysis occurred at circumneutral pH due to combined RNA adsorption and hydroxide availability.
  • Aluminum minerals did not catalyze RNA hydrolysis.

Conclusions:

  • Mineral-catalyzed RNA hydrolysis is a previously unrecognized abiotic pathway.
  • This process is significant in iron-rich soils and sediments, affecting RNA persistence.
  • Findings necessitate re-evaluation of RNA stability in environmental nucleic acid analyses.